Nightmare World
by Water Solace
Summary: Everyday they had to face the turmoils of the shinobi world, everyday they had to face down monsters who killed without second thought. But now, on a mission that would change how they saw everything, they would have to face the monsters within.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: It has arrived! The side-story to "Remembrance." **

**This plot takes place after chapter 20 titled, "Phantom Ruins" and before chapter 21 titled, "Wind and Fire."**

**Noel Ardnek and I wrote this together. Please let us know what you think.**

* * *

_**Nightmare World**_

_**Part 1**_

* * *

The nightmare was awake. She'd been dreading this the moment she became a shinobi. Being ordered to kill, as every shinobi must, was something she foolishly thought she could avoid. But now the time had come, the command had been received, and she was desperately trying to find a way out.

"I don't understand what getting rid of them means," she said to her teammates as they journeyed to their destination. She hoped for a reassuring answer, something that meant she wouldn't have to bloody her hands.

Oreo pulled her windblown hair out of her face, dark green eyes cutting a line to the unwilling brunette. The irritation clearly visible on her face was downplayed by the worry in her tone. "Don't make this complicated, Katy."

But she had to make it so, because that's what it was. Being raised as she was, being taught that killing another human was the worst sin a person could commit, there was no way she could do it. Not unless she was trapped in a frenzy of blind anger or fear. At least she estimated such since she had acted rashly in those two emotions in the past, but never had it pushed to a deadly degree. She was always careful not to place herself in a situation where that would likely happen.

"Actually," chimed in Mae, "I was wondering the same thing. What are we going to do?"

Katy glanced over at the dark-haired girl, the youngest of the group, and grimaced. She'd be damned if she let her ten-year-old niece sully herself in a mess of crimson. Mae was taught the same as she and as the elder, if only by a couple years due to Katy's late conception, it was her responsibility to make sure Mae wouldn't have to face such horror. Yet here they were, all because of a society that allows, sometimes even forces, children to become soldiers. No, not soldiers. Soldiers fought to protect their people and country. Shinobi were not used like that unless there was a war. Killers for hire, getting payment off the bloodshed of others, that's what a shinobi was. Assassins. Katy never wanted anything to do with them. If it wasn't for the promise she made long ago she never would have come back to this world, never would have signed up at Oreo's insistence, never would have been sent on this mission.

What was she going to do?

"We're gonna thrash 'em, that's what!" shouted the blonde boy in the lead. "Piece of cake, don't worry about a thing. When those troublemakers see how powerful I am they'll be running off with their tails between their legs!"

Katy tried to smile at his back. Naruto… the one shinobi who was like anything but. He saw the world through simple blue eyes, looking at the brighter side of things, always striving for the best. But he wasn't always realistic. Did this mission specifically call for kills to be made, or was "get rid of them" simply that? Tsunade wasn't very clear about it before she rushed them out the door.

"Up ahead," Oreo stated firmly, pointing forward.

The green scenery receded as they emerged from the trees and made their way down into a small valley. The entire area seemed to have a grim aura hanging over it, choking it like a thick mist. Dirt roads painted streaks of brown across faded grass, farmers scattered in weed-choked fields were toiling to save their meager crops, and in the center of it all was a cluster of rundown houses that looked more like shacks. The group of four veiled their shock. The poor conditions around them grew clearer as they moved into the heart of the little village. The little shacks were unkempt, the wood rotting and falling apart piece by piece. Some of the huts were leaning to one side; some had roofs that were sinking in. Splintered doors and windows clattered shut when they passed through the muddy street. Only a few of the people remained outside. One, an old man, stared them down, his worn hands trembling on his walking stick. His defiance barely broke through the fear that clung to his shaking body.

"What's wrong with everybody?" Naruto balked. "This place looks terrible."

"It does. That's why you're here."

The team jumped at the voice and spun around. A young woman with dark brown hair pulled into a tight bun stood before them.

"Who are you?" Oreo demanded fiercely, her hand resting on her kunai pouch.

The woman's dark eyes darted about. Without a word she motioned for them to follow her. Oreo and Naruto shared a glance, nodding to each other before following along while Katy and Mae trailed behind uncertainly. The woman's strides were short but swift and soon she'd lead them to a hut, holding the flap open for them to enter. When they did so she stepped in behind them, her gaze downcast to the dirt floor. "I'm so glad you came," she whispered, sounding on the edge of tears.

"Who are you?" Oreo asked again, gently this time.

"My name is Emiko." She dabbed her eyes with the sleeve of her washed-out purple kimono. "I'm the one who sent for you. We're in desperate need of help and this was the only thing I could think to do."

"Tell us what's goin' on here, lady, and we'll fix it." Naruto said, eyes shining with sympathy for the distraught woman.

"We were given a brief summary of this mission," Oreo cut in, sending the blonde and look of distaste. He probably wasn't listening when Tsunade was talking. She fixed her stare on the woman known as Emiko. "Your village is being terrorized by bandits, correct?"

"Yes." Emiko composed herself, straightening her back and sighing. "It's been going on for some time now. We used to be a prosperous farming town and our village had been steadily growing. But then they came, demanding 'protection' money. When we refused…" Her taut face became grim. "Most of them are regular thieving brutes, but there are a few amongst them who used to be ninja. We were no match for them. If you didn't pay, horrible things would happen to you. People would see things that weren't there, houses burned down, people would run into the streets screaming, it was terrible."

"And you need us to get rid of them," said Oreo, cutting to the chase.

Emiko tilted forward in a bow. "Please. You're the last hope our village has."

"Okay," said Oreo austerely. "Tell us where we can find them."

Emiko didn't know where the base was exactly, but she pointed in the general direction where rogues were last seen retreating to. Naruto was ready to go charging forward, but Oreo held him back by the collar of his jacket, reminding him that stealth was a crucial key to victory. A strange thing for her to say, Katy thought, since it was the ruby haired girl who usually spazzed out when they played games. The brunette wilted, slouching as she followed the leading pair. Games and reality… It seemed Oreo had separated the two, proving that she was maturing at a faster rate than Katy thought possible. At such a young age, should they really be expected to kiss their childhood goodbye?

Mae lightly touched her arm and Katy smiled dimly, trying to show the younger girl she needn't worry.

They walked out of the small valley nonchalantly, as any other passersby would, but when they got into the thickness of the woods their movements became quick and quiet. The four stalked through weeds, thorns, and other undergrowth with the skill and silence of a cat on the prowl. Katy had to admit they'd come a long way from the stumbling and bumbling they did in the Forest of Death.

The brunette's thoughts once again drifted as she followed behind her peers. What had been said and seen back at that pitiful little village wouldn't leave Katy alone. It was clear they had to get rid of these rogues somehow, and still the possibility that she'd have to kill terrified her. She understood there were people out there who couldn't be dealt with in any other way; criminals that refused to repent. Perhaps she'd be more inclined to disembowel a serial rapist? Probably not. Completely obliterating his reproductive organs would be her solution.

When it came down to it she just didn't have what it took to kill. She'd choose to dish out cruel and unusual punishment over the death penalty.

Obvious criminals aside, there were many who were not fully deserving of the horrific ends they received. Katy suppressed a cold tremor. She knew those horrors; unknown bodies covered in red haunted her dreams. She had witnessed brutal killings done by a boy no older than six, his brutality growing as his age advanced. His hair the color of fresh blood, his eyes glazed with steel devoid of compassion, he killed without mercy, without honor.

His village had made him into that killer.

He used to be her best friend.

"I think we've found our bad guys," Oreo hissed excitedly. Naruto wriggled impatiently beside her, barely stifling his exuberance. Their gazes were trained on a crevice in the rock of a steep cliff face. It looked like a wound in the mountain's side and Katy felt her own side begin to ache in response. Rocks, silver, gray, and black jutted out between tall pines and thick brambles all around it. Creeping vines further disguised the entrance.

The sporadic sound of drunken footsteps and curses could be heard coming from within.

"I'm guessing that's not one of the ninjas," Mae commented flatly.

"Shhh!" Oreo put a finger to her lips. "He just went in. If we follow him he'll lead us to the rest of 'em."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Naruto whispered excitedly. He was already bolting ahead, weaving his way through the bushes.

"Stay low, you idiot!" Oreo was hot on his trail. Katy and Mae each gave out a sigh before lugging after them.

The entry to the rogue's hideout was like a gaping black slash in the rock and Katy felt like it was sucking her in to its dark depths as she raced towards it. They left the light behind and all Katy could do was follow the shadows of Oreo, Naruto, and Mae as they tracked the noise of the stumbling man. The air, fresh and crisp with the breezes outside, became stagnant and still within. She could smell dripping water and damp moss.

The group had to be extra cautious in the tunnel, where every little sound made was magnified in the echoes bouncing from the stones. There were many passageways and Oreo quietly expressed her relief in finding the "drunk buffoon," as she called him, because the other tunnels were probably laden with traps intended for intruders who did not know the correct paths to take. Soon they came upon lit lanterns hanging from rope. Instead of letting that expose them, they kept hidden in the shadows cast by the dim fires.

The drunk man staggered up to two more men, sentries who were standing guard with daggers and spears as their weapons. They let the man pass without so much as a nod of greeting. Beyond where the sentries stood, more voices and shouting could be heard echoing faintly.

"This is it." Oreo beckoned to Naruto. "Get ready."

"Way ahead of ya!"

Clones of shadow came to life and charged, quickly overtaking the sentries before they could do or say a thing. Katy did not see any blood, so she figured he'd just knocked them out with his swift punches, and proceeded with her own attacks.

The four of them rushed down the tunnels, striking anyone they saw. Most of the rogues looked grungy and smelled of liquor. Katy had no problem blasting them with surges of water. Mae used her shuriken to wound and her thorny vines to bind. Oreo brandished her fire jutsu and kunai. Naruto relied on his shadow clones and brute force.

All of the bandits fought like grunts, like cavemen who only knew how to wield clubs and daggers. Occasionally one would come at them with a sword but they never got close enough to use it.

"There's a lot of trash in here," Oreo spat. "Let's split up and get this done!"

"All right!" Naruto ventured left through another tunnel. With his shadow clones he was like an entire army. He'd have to troubles going on his own.

But still Katy suggested, "Why don't you go with him? He could be ambushed."

"By these idiots?" Oreo motioned. "I don't think so. Besides, you and Mae need me incase you can't garner up the guts to kill."

The brunette glared. "That's not fair, Anna."

"I told you not to call me that anymore!" The ruby-head whirled on her, blasting a bandit with fire before he could strike Katy on the head.

"Don't kill them!"

"Look, Katy, we're shinobi now. It's what we do, what we're supposed to do. The sooner you get that fact the better off you'll be!"

Katy seethed like boiling water. She made up her mind right then and there. She'd never sacrifice her virtue for a village she had no real connection to. Especially not the ninja village ordering her to do their dirty deeds!

"Uh, guys," Mae squeaked. "I think we found a ninja in the group!"

"Mae!" Katy ran to catch her as she was kicked back by a man wearing a black mask made of cloth. He let out a coarse laugh and lunged. Anna (because she'd always be Anna to Katy no matter how many times she lied about her true name) jumped in front and tossed kunai. They were deflected by the kunai of the man.

Mae used her time on the ground to summon vines to wrap around the man's feet. When he moved to attack again he found himself stuck, teetering in an attempt to regain his balance. Katy wouldn't give him the chance. A gush of water erupted from the ground and slammed into the man's chin, engulfing his entire head in water and knocking him backwards. He groaned as he stirred from his sprawled out position on the ground. Anna leapt on him before he could pull himself together, landing punch after punch on his face.

"It's enough! We won!" Katy cried out.

Anna's dark green eyes glinted with sparks as she shakily held her fist above the man's head. "Always the one for mercy, aren't you?" She said to the brunette before standing solemnly, surveying the results of their fight.

Beaten, whipped, and cut men lay all around them. Many had already turned tail and run for their lives. Those who stayed were now unconscious or had fled while burning.

"Mission…complete?" Mae offered tentatively.

"Yeah," sighed Anna. "I guess. Let's go check on the dumb blonde."

The next thing they knew, Anna was on her face. The masked ninja shot up and ran. Snarling in rage, Anna went after him. He hadn't been punched out after all.

"Faker!" Katy screeched out like a child who'd shout, "Cheater!" when they didn't get their way.

The man, a low-level shinobi if any could tell by his lack of taijutsu or ninjutsu skills, was tackled into the dirt and stones. He thrashed relentlessly and Anna was having trouble keeping a hold of the man's collar. "Quit struggling! It's not like you're going to get away."

The man gave a sneer. "Maybe not, but I can at least take some Leaf ninja with me." And quickly made hand signs faster than the girls thought possible.

Realizing the danger, Anna turned towards her friends to shout, "Crap! Guys get out o-"

Naruto's clone round housed kicked the last of the thieves before the entire group of clones tied them together, disappearing into small clouds of smoke when it was done. He breathed in the fresh air and smiled. The path he took lead outside, like a backdoor to the hideout. "Looks like you guys are done," he said to the defeated rogues, "And as soon as Katy and what's-their-faces get back with your friends, I get to go home to a nice bowl of-"

All thoughts of ramen flew from Naruto's mind when he heard a strange, high-pitched sound. If it was chilling to him, then it must have scared the crap out of the birds that flew from the trees as fast as their wings could take them. It took Naruto a second to realize that it was just one thing that made that sound, and that one of the screams sounded oddly familiar.

Naruto's legs were moving the nanosecond it took for him to realize that it was the girls' screams he heard.

-OoOoOoOo-

She couldn't believe her rotten luck.

Why couldn't she have been placed on a joint-village mission with hot guys? Or even mediocre looking guys? Nope, not this time. Instead she got to work with two silent weirdos. And one of them scared the crap out of her.

Ino frowned as she fearfully eyed the scarlet haired shinobi with black rings around his eyes. She'd seen him fight before; it was one of the most terrifying things she had ever witnessed. She edged over to her village teammate, the dumb looking boy with long brown hair and white eyes- Hyuuga eyes. Neji was his name. She may not have had any liking for him either but at least he didn't have any sociopathic tendencies, unlike the other one- Gaara.

They had finished the mission of escort and protection and were now heading down to the checkpoint where they would go their separate ways. Gaara would return to the Sand and Ino and Neji would return to the Leaf.

At the moment they were passing through a mountainous forest area, and Ino mentally complained about all the brambles. She would have complained out loud if it weren't for the intimidating redhead just a few steps away. Although she had to admit, him being there made their mission go incredibly smoothly. His defensive capabilities were astounding and Ino hardly had to do anything herself. Neji would scout out for any adversaries and Gaara would quickly dispatch them. Ino felt a little useless after thinking about it. What did she do to help, anyway?

Suddenly a shrill sound pierced the still air of the forest. Gaara immediately froze.

"I wonder what that was," Neji mused aloud.

"It sounded like a scream," added Ino.

Gaara suddenly took off, going towards the source of the sound. Neji followed without a word. Ino, on the other hand had to voice her confusion.

"Hey, where are you going? Hey! Wait up!"

-OoOoOoOo-

By the time Naruto got to the location of the screams the thief was gone, but that didn't register in his mind nearly as much as the sight of his three friends on the ground. The littlest one - Mae - was face down, her head to the side. The redhead - Anna or Oreo or whatever - was on her back with her arms extended out, as if she had been trying to cover her friends from something as she fell down. Katy laid next to Mae with an arm wrapped around the younger girl's torso, and covering her with most of her body (most likely from trying to shield her from whatever the attack was).

Naruto quickly snapped into action. "Hey! Guys, you okay?!" Admittedly even he thought that was kind of a stupid question, but he was too scared (though he would never admit it) to think too much about it. He went straight to Katy, and rolled her over onto her back. "Katy, you-" Naruto abruptly stopped when he saw Katy's eyes. There was no light in them. They were hollow and dull and seemed to have lost all life in them. Immediately he leaned over to put his ear over her mouth to hear if she was still breathing. He himself breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the long but faint breaths she took. He looked over at Anna and Mae, and he could see the slight rise and fall of their chests. If he had to guess he would've thought they were sleeping.

But something still wasn't right. Why had they screamed before? And if they were really asleep, then why were their eyes open?

He gave Katy a slight shake, hoping to jostle her awake. "Katy. Earth to Katy. Come on, wake up. This isn't funny!"

He scarcely caught wind of incoming enemies. His whole body went ridged. If those were shinobi he was sensing he was in serious trouble.

"Naruto?"

The blond boy looked up to see Neji, Ino, and Gaara in front of him. He let go of the breath he was holding, realizing it was his friends and not another enemy. It took them a lot sooner to realize that something was wrong before rushing in. Neji went to Anna's side, Ino to Mae's, and Gaara practically ripped Katy out of Naruto's arms.

Gaara looked down on the brunette in his arms, a look of extreme worry crossing his features before it was extinguished by a look of rage as he glared at Naruto. "What. Happened."

Naruto flinched at how menacing Gaara's voice had become. Briefly flashes of memory of their battle during the Chuunin exams reemerged to him. He put on a tough front, again refusing to show he'd become a little scared. Though Naruto had won the battle back then, he was still respectfully wary of the one who'd pushed him so far beyond his usual limit. However, realizing that he needed to get his friends' help, he gulped and said, "We were on a mission to stop rogue ninja from terrorizing a village nearby. I was taking care of some of them when I heard a scream, so I ran here and found them like this."

Neji had heard this recollection, and quickly activated his Byakugan to focus on Anna's chakra flow. "It looks like they're under a type of genjustu. Release!" He made the hand sign, but nothing happened. He tried it twice, three times before realizing that it was not going to work. "Ino, the Yamanaka's are masters of mind techniques. Assess the situation." The tone in Neji's voice left no room for argument.

Ino tried to look into Mae's mind, but as soon as she tried to dig under the surface she was stopped. "I-I-I can't!"

"Why not?" was Neji's aggravated answer.

"I'm trying, but something's blocking me! I can't get through!"

"Try harder!" Gaara growled at her.

In annoyance, Ino glared right back at him. Hey, it was her friend under the genjutsu too! Despite what most people thought, Ino had taken a shine to the little girl. "I said I can't! This genjutsu works differently than almost all the ones I've seen. I have to look into this at another location."

"Wait a sec, I know what this is." Naruto's strangely quiet voice brought the attention of his three new companions. "The rogue ninja... they were using a weird jutsu to extort money from the village."

"Quickly, Naruto. Bring back one of the rogues to wake them up." Neji commanded, all of them feeling a little bit of hope. It was quickly crushed, however, when Naruto answered that he had knocked them all out… and that absolutely none of them were ninja, which was made prevalent by their fighting style (or lack thereof).

All eyes then turned to the masked man the three girls had been fighting. He was nothing but a lump on the ground. Neji checked his pulse. Nothing; the man was dead. Checking the other bandits scattered around the area, it became evident that that man was the lone ninja amongst them, and the one casting the genjutsu on the village. The group's distress was escalating, but hey kept in just beneath their skin. They were taught not to let emotion interfere. Naruto then quickly told them that they could take the girls to the village that had been terrorized by the rogues. After ordering Naruto to bring the remaining bandits to the village so they could be detained, the three others picked up the girls and followed Naruto's rushed and slightly vague directions.

Hopefully they wouldn't be too late.

-OoOoOoOo-

When they arrived in the ramshackle village carrying the three girls, Emiko took one look at them and somberly showed them to a shack where they could place their unconscious teammates.

"You should really talk to Daisuke. He may be able to help you since he's the most lucid." Emiko led them to a group of huts outside the village, which ordinarily would not have raised suspicion had it not been for the barbed wire fence surrounding the huts. As they drew closer, a shiver ran through their spines when they heard shrill screams and guttural groans ring throughout the area. When they neared the fence they saw a man with terrible burns try to break free from two men until they wrestled him down onto a bed, and tied him to it with rope.

Emiko turned towards them, her beautiful features marred by lines of worry caused by the gravity of the situation. "We can only be here for a short amount of time, and I must ask you to place your weapons in the bin over there. The reason I ask is that they will unsettle the more violent patients."

Naruto asked, "This is your hospital?" before getting bopped over the head by Neji for his rudeness.

Emiko's eyes looked weary as she answered. "It's the most we could do under the circumstances. We couldn't keep them in the village, because...well I think I'll let Daisuke explain that."

After depositing their weapons they entered the area, and the first thing that hit them was the smell. It took willpower to not recoil let alone faint at the combination of sweat and human filth that seemed to overpower most of the area. The second thing that would make most peoples' skin crawl were the sounds of groaning, crying, and screaming that made each of them wonder if they had entered an insane asylum. The worst smells and sounds came from the far end of the fence.

Emiko quickly led them to huts that were closer to the entrance, and went straight to a hut and knocked. "Daisuke, it's me, Emiko. I brought the people I told you about: the ninja whose friends were attacked. We're coming in now." Emiko opened the flap and allowed each of the ninja inside. In the center was a boy no older than they sitting on the ground, his back facing them, his arms crossed over his legs with his head rested on them. He raised his head before turning around. He looked at them strangely and narrowed his eyes, as if trying to discern if what he was seeing was correct.

"Well let's not waste time. Emiko has told me about your friends, so I'm going to show you what you're up against before you decide to go into their heads, and what will happen if you fail. Follow me." Daisuke stood up, and it was only with Emiko's help that he was able to stand up straight before she brought a cane. He told Emiko to wait for them outside the area, and although it looked like she wanted to protest she reluctantly nodded and left.

They followed Daisuke through the huts as he told his story. "As you may already know, about a month ago a group of rogues came to our village demanding tribute in turn for their 'protection'. At first we refused and they punished us by placing several villagers under a genjutsu until we paid. They would do the same thing over and over again anytime someone couldn't or wouldn't pay. My dad was a farmer who worked his butt off his entire life just to put food on the table, but when the rogues upped the price he chose to put food in his family's stomach. I spent three days fighting to survive monsters and demons trying to kill me, only to wake up after my mother sold everything we owned to pay our debt."

He took a long pause before stopping in front of a series of huts that were separated from the other huts, and they could tell this is where the foulest smells and sounds were coming from. "We each spent an additional four days in there, being strapped down to beds thinking that the volunteers were trying to kill us." As he spoke they noticed rope burns on Daisuke's wrists. "The first time my mom tried to visit... my dad thought that she was trying to suffocate him instead of placing a blanket over his body. I didn't even recognize her."

Daisuke turned towards the group, and the light that should've been in his eyes as a result of being young was dimmed considerably. There was no hint of joy in his face, and the hollowness of his tone only added to the somber effect. "I was able to come out of the worst stages, but I stay here because sometimes I still can't tell what's real or not." He pointed to a woman tied to a bed who was moaning in her sleep. "When her son brought her a flower when he came to visit, she tried to strangle him because she claimed that the flower was a knife." Daisuke then pointed to the man that previously had to be restrained. "He set himself on fire because he thought there were bugs under his skin. Each hallucination is different and terrible in their own right. No one is at peace here."

Ino then plucked up the courage to ask, "What about your dad? Where is he?"

Daisuke responded by turning around, and pointed to a several mounds of earth which the group quickly recognized as graves. "I haven't slept in days, I can't eat because I feel like someone has poisoned the food so I have to be force fed, and I'm considered one of the lucky ones. My dad...the stress is just too much for some people."

Daisuke turned toward them. "I hope that you get your friends out in time. I really do. But I guarantee that they won't be the same."


	2. Chapter 2

**Nightmare World**

**Part 2**

* * *

"Look, I've already told you everything!"

"Think harder. Did you see any others?"

"No, it was just that one."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I've racked my brain already!"

Neji stared hard at Naruto. "Then we have no other choice but to wait for Ino and Gaara to finish interrogating the bandits we captured."

"**I** captured," Naruto enunciated, fidgeting restlessly where he sat. He hated waiting around and being unable to do anything. His friends were in danger, he couldn't just sit here. Surely there was something he could do.

He was startled out of his impatient reverie when Neji spoke, "There's no doubt. If the man they fought was the only shinobi amongst them, then it stands clear that he was the leader."

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto nodded vigorously. "But how do we get Katy and the rest of 'em out of their heads?"

Neji put his hand to his chin, looking deep in thought. "Whatever genjutsu he used, it was no ordinary one. And it must be exceptionally powerful if it cost him his life to cast it."

Just then Ino and Gaara entered the shoddy hut Emiko had lent to them. Ino looked about as white as a sheep, warily eying the stone-faced Suna shinobi. "They talked," was all he said.

Was it Naruto's imagination or did Ino just turn a little green?

"What did they say?" Neji inquired, taking no notice of Ino's slight color change.

"The shinobi who cast the jutsu was called Tojiro. He was the one carrying out the threats if the villagers did not pay their 'protection' fee."

Neji nodded. "Just as I thought."

Gaara went on to explain. "Tojiro excelled in genjutsu and other illusion techniques but lacked skill in every other area. He gathered the bandits for physical protection with the promise of riches. He could use a wide variety of genjutsu, the weakest being simple illusions and the strongest being…" He glanced over at Anna, Mae, and Katy. They were placed side by side on straw mats; the only beds the village had to offer at the time. "Only Tojiro could break the jutsu he cast," the redhead finished quietly.

"And the other bandits?" Neji asked.

"Useless," Gaara sneered. "They won't be extorting money out of anyone ever again."

Ino covered her mouth with a hand before placing the other on her stomach.

Naruto looked between his three conscious comrades. "So? How do we get them out?"

"I don't know." Gaara sighed before he closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. He appeared paler than usual. It was obvious to anyone with keen observation skills that the Sand ninja was on edge. Silence stirred in the room as the group tried to think of a way to fix the difficult situation. "If what Emiko said about the other cases applies to this one, then the longer we wait to act the stronger the genjutsu's hold on them will become."

"Let's take them to Granny Tsunade." Naruto offered. "She'll know what to do."

"Yes," Neji replied, "That seems like the only viable option we have. However the Leaf Village is over half a day away. And we must be prepared… Lady Hokage may not be able to help them." His white eyes cut over to Anna.

Gaara's shoulders stiffened. "Will they…?" His words drifted off, as he realized he was asking a question no one wanted to answer, nor could answer at this point. He slowly walked over to the mats and stared down at Katy.

Ino wrung her hands together, her stomach twisting in knots.

"We'll have to start moving immediately if we want a chance," Neji said, standing.

"All right." Naruto jumped up. "Let's go!"

"Wait," Ino cut in. All eyes went to her. "There… there's a certain jutsu passed down in my clan. I think it might be able to fix this, but…"

"What is it?" Gaara prompted, his tone laced with urgency.

Ino swallowed the lump in her throat and steeled herself. "I'm not sure if I'll be able to pull it off. It's similar to the Mind Transfer jutsu, only it's a lot more complicated than that. It's called the Mind Excursion jutsu."

"Yes," Neji said thoughtfully. "I believe I heard of that. It was used in hospitals during times of war, correct?"

"Right," Ino confirmed. "Its main purpose was to pull people out of catatonic states and comas."

"I have no idea what you're talkin' about, but whatever." Naruto pumped his fist into the air. "Let's do it! Let's pull 'em out!"

Ino shook her head. "But that's the problem! I don't know if I can. It's complicated and though I've been studying up on it, it requires a ton of chakra. Only seasoned Yamanaka who've built up their chakra reserves can successfully use it. The reason for that is because it has to be used long term- you need time to find the person you're trying to bring out. And..." She sighed. "It also means carrying in the mind of at least one teammate. You never know what you're going to find in the deep recesses of the person's subconscious. Back up will be needed."

Ino thought of the resistance she met in Katy's mind during the Chuunin exams, how she was surrounded by monsters of ice. She shivered at the very memory. And that was only the Mind Transfer jutsu. The Mind Excursion jutsu delved far deeper, deep into the darkest corners. The last thing Ino wanted to do was go back in there, where the ice penetrated into her very soul. But Katy was still Ino's comrade from the Leaf, and she felt she owed it to Mae.

"Why bring it up if you can't do it?" Gaara nearly hissed at her. His sharp eyes cut into the usually outspoken kunoichi and reduced her to a stuttering mess.

"I… I don't know. I just thought…"

Suddenly Naruto was right in front of her face. "Use my chakra!" He insisted, holding out his hands. "Take as much as you need. I've got plenty of it, trust me."

Ino's mouth hung open, speechless.

"All right," Neji stepped in. "We better get this right, and we better have a plan."

-OoOoOoOo-

They were in position. Ino had placed several chakra tags around the girls and more scattered on the walls. She sat cross-legged at the head of Katy, Mae, and Oreo. Beside her were Neji and Gaara. Naruto sat opposite of them, at the feet of the girls, powering up his chakra. Simultaneously, they began weaving hand signs as Ino instructed them. Chakra surged in the room and Ino took the moment to shout out the last instructions.

"The three of us are going to try to enter Mae's mind first, and then use her connection to the others to enter theirs, but let me make this extremely clear. The longer we stay in there, the greater the jutsu's hold will be on _us_, and then we won't be any good to anyone. Naruto, you have to check that timer. My best estimate is that that's how long it will be before we cross the point of no return, and if that happens you have to pull us out."

"Got it!" Naruto's eyes grew hard with concentration. "You can count on me!"

"We know," said Gaara. He had full confidence in the Uzumaki.

The transition from the real world into Mae's mind was a difficult one. After the feeling of being stretched like taffy had passed (a very unpleasant feeling mind you), they took a moment to survey their surroundings. And to them, some of it was unlike anything they had ever seen before.

"How high does that thing go?!" The thing that Ino was talking about was a skyscraper, one of many, that littered the strange city they were in. Not even the Hokage Mountain was as high as even one of those buildings. Curiosity took over and Ino scaled one of the tall buildings - thankful that at least wall climbing was not affected in this world for the time being - until she was forced to stop to catch her breath. No one could get that high! As she took a moment to rest on a small ledge of concrete she raised a hand over her eyes, unnecessary since this world's sky was rather gray, and gasped.

"Guys!" She shouted down to the others. They had also jumped onto buildings but were not as tall as the one she was on. "You've got to come up and see this!"

Neji and Gaara ran up the side of the skyscraper Ino was on, and although they were good at hiding it she was sure that at least a little part of them was as shocked as she was. This "city" was divided into three very distinct parts.

One part was a section that was overrun with plants. There were vines creeping up the sides of buildings, some crushing the stone and steel structures in a death grip leaving only twisted or broken shells of what they used to be. She could see trees bursting out of rooftops and windows. In short it was a jungle of flora ready to literally entwine itself into everything in its path.

One antithesis of this was another section of a city that looked like scorched earth mixed in with a blacksmith's dream. There were black scorch marks all over the buildings that were still standing. Other structures were reduced to their steel foundations. There was no green on that earth, but it was made up for by the blackened ground. Smoke rose from the burnt down buildings and even from their height the heat was still even a little palpable to them.

The final in the trilogy of parts this horrible city was split in was a city that looked like what would happen if a snow globe broke. Buildings were not only frosted with ice, but sometimes completely hardened by it. The snow that fell lightly on the ground was no sign of comfort, as it only served to draw the eye to the harsh environment of dead greenery, broken structures, and windows. They could feel the bitter chill that permeated from it.

In short, whatever hopes that they would be able to complete this mission unscathed was shot down. No nightmare like this - or rather the collection of three people's nightmares combined together - would allow any trespassers to escape without injury. That is if they escaped at all.

"The ice… is the farthest away," Gaara noted grimly.

"And the vegetation is the closest. We should start there."

Ino nodded in agreement to Neji. They began moving their way to the plant-infested city. Gaara stared off into the distance where the ice stood cold and dismal before following behind his new comrades.

They were led by a trail of black roads. Ino wasn't sure what it was made of, but it smelled funny and it was all cracked by the foliage bursting through it. Looking at it closely, she could see tiny black rocks where it was broken up.

Their trek into the plant city was not an easy one. Thorns and vines like barbed wire slowed their movement. They didn't want any unwanted attention drawn to them or to do any unnecessary damage to Mae's psyche, so large scale jutsu was out of the question. They had to settle with slicing away at the invasive plants with kunai. For once Ino was glad her hair was not as long as it was. It was getting snagged by spindly thorns enough as it was. She could hear an occasional grunt from Gaara and Neji when their clothes (or Neji's long hair) would get caught in the barbs.

They were exasperated by the time the black roads merged in the center of the city. What lied in there was emitting an ominous energy.

"A greenhouse? Go figure." Ino commented at what the black roads lead to. Neji quickly shushed her.

"We don't know what we will encounter in here, so speak as quietly and infrequently as possible." Gaara supplied. They pressed onward, and it quickly became apparent that this particular greenhouse was unlike most others if the gigantic plants were anything to go by. There were enormous blossoms of all different colors. There was a purple flower that was twice Ino's size and it looked like it could crush her. Yet all of the plants gently swayed from side-to-side, like they were trapped in some imaginary breeze. Ino noticed no breeze; in fact the air seemed rather stale. She also noticed there were visible green specks of what she could only describe as pollen in the air.

She almost jumped when she saw a giant Venus fly trap on her right. It stilled for a moment as unseen eyes stared right at her. Gaara and Neji stopped moving, waiting to see what it would do. Even though they knew none of it was real, there was still a good chance that they could some real and permanent damage. One chomp and they could be as good as dead. Ino slowly edged away from the carnivorous plant and back towards her teammates.

_What's that?_ Ino thought as a light hum was heard throughout the greenhouse. They all looked at each other before deciding that they might as well investigate. The sooner they got Mae and got out of there the better.

They carefully eyed the swaying plants. Thankfully for the moment nothing seemed interested in them, and they even managed to find some normal shrubbery to hide in. They stalked deeper into the arboretum until they got a clear viewpoint of the center of the giant garden, and a clear view of the creature that was what Ino could only assume a manifestation of Mae's nightmare. Ino tensed before silently climbing up a tree to get a better look at it.

It was some unnatural, humanoid plant with roots for a lower body that were implanted in the ground in the very center of the greenhouse. Looking at it from above it almost looked like a pistil with the other plants surrounding it being the petals, sepals, and leaves. It was covered with fresh and dying leaves and vines, some parts covered with dew while others were beginning to rot and were covered with moss. The top half resembled a grown woman with prickly, thorny vines for hair. Its arms were twice the size of its torso and tiny flower buds formed on the long appendages.

There were two things that stood out most to Ino. One was the giant Cosmo flower bud on its back, and the other was that if she were just a little crazy (which if they stayed in there too long may be the case) the face of the monster looked a little like Mae's.

As it was, the not-Mae creature was humming some little tune to the swaying flora nearby, its arms long enough to reach the petals. It didn't seem to notice them, so for the moment they were safe.

"What do we do about that?" Ino let out as quietly as she could, but loud enough that the boys at the base of the tree could hear her. This was a fatal mistake. The creature turned its head sharply towards their direction, and let out a shrill wail. Suddenly the still plants began to shake violently. It wasn't long before the things fiercely sprang to life. Thorns were shot at them like a rain of senbon. Ino and Neji jumped out of the way while Gaara's sand shield took the brunt of the attack. Ino and Neji continued to dodge and realized too late that the plants had herded them to the creature.

The monster used one arm to swipe at them. They avoided, but then it used the other arm to try and crush Ino. The kunoichi rolled out of the way just in time. Neji threw kunai at the beast, but the knives embedded into the mossy flesh without its notice or care. It continued to attack with its long reaching arms. Gaara strode out into the open like there wasn't a bunch of plants trying to kill them. "Something's wrong," he said perturbed.

"Ya think?! Gah!" Ino sucked in air after a thorn pierced into her arm.

Gaara's face twisted into a scowl as he directed the sand to blast the creature. Only a thin trail managed to hit it in the face. It shook its head roughly and then continued as if nothing had happened. "The sand… it's hard to control."

"He's right," Neji said as he threw more kunai at the creature's head. "I'm having trouble activating my Byakugan!"

"Our jutsu won't work in here like it normally does. Look out!" Ino gasped before holding her hand over her mouth. The creature stood erect, the leaves and thorns on its body bristling. It opened its monstrous mouth, lined with pointy needle-like teeth, and emitted a foul purple gas. The noxious air seeped from the flower buds on its arms once its mouth was closed. The Leaf ninja jump back to Gaara, keeping their distance. "Poison," hissed Ino.

The veins in the Hyuuga's face struggled to meet his eyes. "I can't tell what's going on inside it."

Gaara stared at the thing for a moment. "Get it out of the ground."

Neji observed the lower half of its body where it was rooted into the soil. "Yes, that could work. But how?"

"Give me time." The Sand ninja replied.

The creature yowled and reached for them, its long arms growing towards them at an incredibly fast rate. Ino and Neji slashed it back, kunai in both hands. Gaara planted his feet to the ground and began making numerous hand signs. The ground began shaking and the creature shrieked. Something bumped it up once, then twice, then finally it toppled over. Sand shot up from beneath it, leaving the roots exposed. The creature twitched and then went still. Gaara let lout an irritated sigh. What normally would have been a tsunami of sand amounted to so little. But it did the deed.

"Is…it dead?" Ino carefully took steps towards the creature. The thorny vines spilled around its head like a flattened spider. "Where's Mae?"

Gaara and Neji yanked her back just as the creature roared back to life. Inky mist sprayed out of its orifices as the leaves and vines that composed it rotted. Ino covered her nose at the stench of decaying plant matter. The monstrosity plunged its arms into the ground as its hair grew wild and untamed. The dark vines curled out like snakes, lashing out at the ninja. Roots erupted from the earth. One shot up like a dark crooked finger, nearly impaling Ino. She barely managed to move out of the way and the slimy thing grazed her leg. All the plants around began to rot, and the smell was overpowering. Gaara wrinkled his nose. A maggot infested corpse would have smelled better.

All Ino and Neji could do was dodge and occasionally slash with kunai. Gaara was having trouble getting the sand to do anything but block attacks. It reminded him of that world with no chakra, where the sand did not obey his command.

"Look at its back!" Neji shouted before rolling out of the way of the whipping vines.

"Mae!" Ino shouted. There on the creatures back, nestled in the cosmos flower was the young girl. The giant flower had partially opened, enough so that they could see Mae through the gaps of the giant petals. She ran to the girl. Neji snapped her name worriedly, but it was too late. The vines from the creatures head grabbed Ino and coiled around her. The black and green matter slithered over her skin. It was squeezing, squeezing, crushing, crushing. Thorns ripped into her flesh. Ino tried to scream but the vines entered her mouth and she could taste the dirt and grime. It was going to choke and crush her at the same time.

Thin wire was strung over the vines and with a swift pull they were cut. Ino fell to the ground where Gaara quickly sliced through the vines holding her. Neji, wielding the wire, cut through more of the roots and vines. Black blood oozed from the plants and the creature screeched. "Distract it!" Neji shouted over its wails.

Gaara nodded and a rope of sand wrapped around the monster. Ino wrapped a paper bomb around a kunai and threw it in front of the creature, that way it would catch its attention but would not harm Mae. Dirt and wood shattered and the creature bellowed fearfully at the flare. While this was happening, Neji strung some wire over a dying tree limb and swung his way behind the beast. The tree limb shuddered and creaked but did not break. He held his breath from the poison before his feet pounded into the creature's back. It shrieked, the sound reverberating the other plants. The vines tried to swipe at him but a hand of sand grabbed them. The Hyuuga pried the giant flower open. Mae lied curled up in the center, stamen securing her in place. Neji grabbed the girl by her arms and tore her from the flower. The creature wailed and squirmed like a worm in the dirt. Ino ran to the back and caught Mae as Neji threw her down before he was bucked off.

Moss disintegrated and fell off in heaps and it rotted into nothing more than a husk as the last of its wails died.

"And just to make sure," Ino spat as she set Mae aside and pulled out more paper bombs. She wrapped them around five different kunai and lodged them into the husk from the head to the roots. Chunks of it rained down after the explosions and fire scorched the earth.

The arboretum rumbled.

"We need to get out of here," Gaara said as Neji scooped up Mae.

Vines rained from the ceiling like serpents. Glass sparkled and plants withered as everything broke down. A shard sliced Neji's calf but he kept running. The exit was in sight. A tree fell in their path and they skidded to a halt, narrowly avoiding being crushed. They jumped over it before bursting through the exit just as the greenhouse fell in completely. They panted and Ino wiped sweat from her brow.

"Is everyone all right?" Gaara asked them.

"Superficial wounds," Neji replied.

"Y-yeah…" Ino glanced over the cuts and tears the thorns left. "Mae." She shook the dark-haired girl. "Mae!"

The young girl groaned and opened her eyes groggily. She squinted at the three people hovering above her. "What?"

"You were trapped in genjutsu," Gaara told her before looking to Ino. "How do we get her out of here?"

"Leave it to me." Ino began her hand signs.

Mae grabbed her hands, vaulting upright into a sitting position. "Wait! What happened to the others? My team!"

"Still trapped," Neji informed her. "We will free them next."

"Let me help, I can help." Mae glanced between them all.

"No," Gaara told her firmly. "I can't allow that. It's not safe for you."

"He's right, Mae." Ino touched the girl's shoulder. "We need you to wake up and wait with Naruto. He's probably getting pretty worried by now. Will you do that? Will you look after Naruto for me?"

"I…" She looked down, quietly giving up her protests. "Okay."

"Thank you, Mae." Ino completed her hand signs and the young girl was engulfed by a bright light. A small pink flower appeared where she once was. Suddenly the plants retracted into neat little gardens, their rotting leaves becoming green and fresh. The path to the nearest city was cleared.

"Now…" Gaara stared down the path ominously as Ino and Neji stood with him.

"Yes," Neji said, his white eyes reflecting the blaze. "Into the fire."

* * *

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	3. Chapter 3

**Nightmare World**

**Part 3**

* * *

The transition into the land of fire (not the one you think) was much smoother and less painful than the first, though no less uncomfortable as they were all in full view of the scorched city that lay ahead of them. Neji, especially, wondered with trepidation what concoction that insane redhead's unconscious would conjure up.

Neji was nothing if not serious. Rarely one to crack a smile at anything, even after he reconsidered his philosophy of fatalism due in large part to his fight with Naruto (and to the aforementioned insane redhead, though she would hardly listen to reason), he still dutifully followed his superiors because unless the order was too ludicrous, nothing usually went wrong when following orders or staying within the group.

That was why he couldn't comprehend why Oreo went after the rogue without fully assessing the situation. She had backup, but even she - for all of her foolish antics (the buttersock incident was still fresh in his mind) - should have been smart enough to know not to charge after an enemy she did not fully understand. He told her, or at least tried to, that her impulsivity would get her killed; he just wished that he wasn't right.

As they drew closer to the center of this section of a nightmarish city, the humidity spiked to an unbearable heat. From man sized holes in the ground fire burst at random intervals threatening to turn anyone who stepped too close to ash. Oh, if that was the only thing they had to worry about…

Something must have happened when they released Mae, because merely a few minutes after stepping into that hellish place something was charging at them. It took a slash of a kunai to cut the thing's neck, and by thing Neji meant a small person whose completely charred body still smoked even as it lie motionless. Neji couldn't say for certain if it was dead, and the smell of burnt flesh was clear in his mind, but some paper bombs took quick care of the thing.

Unfortunately that wasn't the end of them. More of these miniature people came as they ran further into the city, throwing small balls of fire at them as they went. They never approached like the first one, and only a few followed before losing interest. And it was strange how some even threw others in the path of danger when Neji, Ino, or Gaara fought back; as if they actually cared more about themselves than their comrades, if they could even be called that.

By the time they had made it to the center of the section, a small steel mill with tall cylinder chimneys emitting smoke, they were all tired, sweaty, and covered with soot. Nonetheless, they entered the establishment through a broken vent. The inside was warm, not a blistering hot thankfully, and had expanded enough to allow them some movement. Neji gently pushed out the vent at the end, and they all stepped out into an empty hallway with metal doors, walls, ceilings, and pipes running through the entire length of it.

"Okay, so is it Creepy Door #1, or Creepy Door #2?" Ino muttered.

"Just be thorough." Neji clipped, trying to ignore how it seemed to get hotter every minute. Neji opened the first door on his right, but closed it immediately when a burst of fire soared at him. He could still feel the heat of the door. Practically all of the rooms were like that, whether bursting with fire or filled with those demonic children.

They were getting nowhere and the clock was ticking. Neji persistently tried to activate his bloodline trait. The scissors of irritation clipped away at his patience each time the Byakugan failed to activate. In the end he had no choice but to find a way by looking with the naked eye only. It would have been faster, easier, and more precise if he could see through the walls of concrete and doors of steel. He was just thinking how impossible the situation was becoming when he noticed it. The pipes. The steaming metal tubes that ran along the ceilings all convened and ran down a specific hallway. Upon pointing out his observation to Gaara and Ino they all agreed following the pipe trail was the only feasible option for the time being. Much better than guessing what's behind each and every door.

The trail stretched far and it seemed to get hotter and hotter as they went. Their guard was up, especially so when they turned dark corners. One never knew what was waiting around on the other side. They could be jumped at any second. Although, Neji suspected these horrendous creatures had about as much tact as Oreo did. If he was correct in his assumptions then guerrilla strategies were not likely to be used. And so far all they had encountered were frontal attacks. Oreo was a direct kind of person, almost as much as Naruto.

Ino barely suppressed a shriek as one of the burned human-like things charged out of the blistering darkness. It was coming directly at them, just as Neji had anticipated. But as they readied their weapons – kunai and shuriken poised, sand hissing – he noticed something was amiss.

"Move out of its way!" Neji shouted to Ino and Gaara, and the trio leapt to the side. The thing did not attack them; instead it went straight by them as if running away from something. That's when he heard it; the collective sound of beating wings echoing in the corridors. Moths, hundreds of them, flew down the hall. Their wings chased off the dark with the fire that ate their fluttering wings. Neji, Ino, and Gaara ducked out of the way as the moths swarmed past them, chasing and occasionally swooping down in flurries to attack the burned humanoid.

Neji glanced at his temporary comrades. They both nodded in affirmation and he led the way. They followed the swarm, which was now nothing more than a distant flicker of flames in the blackness. It was still the direction the pipes were going.

Shadows flickered in the light of torches as they entered a large room. Gray flecks were falling from the ceiling and they thought it was ash. However, upon closer inspection they saw it was the moths. The flames had consumed most of the bodies leaving only pieces of insect. What was left of their wings still glowed with the aftermath of fire. Ino made a disturbed sound in her throat and tried vainly to avoid the falling bugs.

"Look there." Neji directed their gazes from the ash moths to the middle of the chamber.

The charred creature that was being chased was strewn out on the floor and others like it surrounded it. They were crouched down and pulling at it.

"Are they…" Ino started and then gasped in disgust. "They're eating it!"

Neji felt his gut twist in revulsion but he didn't have time to dwell on it. Ino's outburst attracted the monsters' attention. They all stood and Neji could then see that they were slightly different from the ones they'd encountered earlier. They were taller, though lanky. Neji estimated they were about seven feet tall. Almost all of their skin was charred black and they had no eyes. Their ears were nothing but small holes in the side of their heads. Their gaping mouths were large and lined with sharp teeth. They began their assault by picking up and throwing what was left of the other one. Gaara's sand shield blocked the half eaten arms and legs from touching them. Neji was grateful for that. Though it would have sickened him, he was sure Ino would have lost all composure if hit by something like that. She was already as white as a sheet. Gaara on the other hand did not seem fazed. It was as if he'd seen worse.

The shield went down and Neji took that opportunity to toss shuriken. The charred skin acted like a shell that the blades did not easily sink into. A couple landed a hit on the target while the other blades bounced off and clattered to the floor. The blackened skin cracked, leaking blood and pus from under the grisly shell. Ino covered her mouth with a hand while the other white-knuckled a kunai.

The humanoids charged head first. They then effectively did damage to themselves as they went headlong into a wall of sand. More blood and infectious pus spilled and sprinkled the floor red and yellow. A barrage of blades and sand splattered the two colors everywhere. Ino pinched her nose from the smell and gingerly stepped over the pieces. Gaara walked through it without a care.

Just when Neji thought they could move forward something else happened to stall them. The sound of beating wings came from the dark halls, not the soft assemble of the moths but something bigger. They flew in at the same time; birds with red feathers and needle-like teeth, and began devouring the moths. Neji lashed out with a kunai when a few tried to fly down and bite at his face. Ino yelled as some yanked at her ponytail and clothes. They soon came to ignore the outer layers of their persons and went for the flesh.

"There are too many," shouted Neji. "We need a distraction!"

"Got it." Gaara moved his arm in a sweeping motion. The sand scattered and startled the birds away to the ceiling where they circled in a frenzy.

The trio took the chance and escaped. They continued on the trail of the pipes, rushing down the dark corridors once more. The heat was becoming unbearable and Neji noticed even Gaara, the desert ninja, was uncomfortable. They were all sweating profusely, their clothes getting damp and the sweat running into their eyes. Ino grumbled something about smelly boys but kept moving.

"Do you hear it?" Gaara looked over to Neji as they ran. The air breezing past them was hot as well and did not do much to cool them.

"I do." Neji narrowed his eyes, trying to see past the shadows. It was a metallic sound, like someone was beating on iron. The sound grew in volume and number as they neared its proximity.

The pipes began to rattle. Neji's eye caught a valve coming loose.

"Look out!" He bolted forward and tackled Ino out of the away just as a jet of steam blasted the very spot she had been seconds before. He helped her back up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. What about you?"

"Well enough." Neji winced at a pain on his ankle.

"It got you!"

"I'm fine, really."

"…Okay, but remember," Ino looked at Neji and Gaara worriedly. "Whatever happens in here happens to our bodies outside. Be careful."

"We need to move," Gaara said hastily.

The pipes rattled again and now were shooting out steam at random. The large jets of vaporized water could cook them alive if they stepped into a blast.

The clanging of metal pierced through the loud hisses of the steam.

Neji squinted through the darkness, Byakugan veins trying to meet his eyes. "Up ahead!"

A large door greeted them at the end of the corridor, and beyond that a large chamber. It was much larger than any other room they encountered, and one of the darkest. It was like an old blacksmith factory. Strange devices, things Neji had never seen before, were everywhere along with piles of scrap metal. Gears were turning by the walls, fire roared in furnaces, and smoke funneled up through chimneys. Red hot metal was being smashed by otherworldly machines. Only the fires and the glow of the metal illuminated what was in the center of the room.

The Hyuuga knew what it was when he saw it… because she was there as well.

The first thing that Neji noticed about the creature who was the personification of Oreo's worst nightmare (if nothing else he had seen was counted) was the smell. Nothing was like the smell of burnt human flesh; human being the operative word as the monster with its back turned to them setting about trapping Oreo in metal bindings looked like a completely charred and burnt…being. More so than all the others. It was like a giant version of all the other things and the smell definitely tripled with its size. Every step it took burnt a mark into the floor as it leaned over to grab pipes with sharp ends with coal black fingers, and speared one end into the ground.

It repeated the process until there was a line of razor sharp pipes forming a fence around Oreo.

Neji surveyed the room more closely. It was enormous and unlike any smith's shop as he had seen, and with its own hellish touches of hand-shaped scorch marks, a captive, and what he could've sworn were pieces of burnt human flesh on the floor. He had to remember to swallow to stop anything from coming up.

He held open the door so the others could slip in and take cover behind the various items in the room, and when the others confirmed that they were in position he released the door and dove behind a pile melted metal that covered his body as long as he crouched.

The slam of the metal door alerted the creature to their presence, and Neji wished that the thing had remained as it was.

_That face…!_ Neji's ability to form a cohesive thought was lost somewhere between when he looked at the creature's noseless, earless, and skinless face, the melted eyelids, lips that were stretched and melded together with tears that showed yellow teeth and the gaping chest wound emitting puss.

The creature must've known that people were in the room with it, and it thrust one of its blackened hands out to release a stream of fire. It continued this with all of its limbs in an erratic and random pattern as if it didn't know where to hit.

Looking at the others from behind their respective hiding places, he wondered how on earth they were going to get close to it. It wouldn't be long before the creature figured out where they were, and when that happened they may end up becoming part of the floor (if there was anything left).

Neji looked over the edge of the covering only to duck just seconds before a burst of flame was shot at him. More quick fire spouts accompanied by a roar alerted them all to the fact that the monster had been made aware of their presence.

If ever there was an understatement.

He couldn't see it from where he was hiding. If only he could see. If only he could decipher where its weakness was. If only… Neji knew then it was now or never. He connected his hands in a signal and concentrated all his chakra to his eyes. His eyesight blurred then sharpened, blurred then sharpened. The little rivers of veins struggled to his eyes. They went forward, then receded, then forward again.

Almost.

Sweat ran down the side of his face as he doubled his concentration. His vision was sharpening now without falling into blurry hazes. The veins no longer receded, now they trudged on slowly, steadily until…

At last.

Neji activated his Byakugan. And he could see everything.

He saw that the creature was shooting fire from its hands and feet. He could see the tunnels within its arms, and how the fire built up. The pressure continued as the fire festered there and then exploded, shooting out like a volcano. They would have to seal it off, though that was easier said than done unless they wanted to be burnt into a crisp. And judging by the creature's inconsistent firing he didn't want to take the chance of accidentally getting Oreo stuck in the literal crossfire.

Neji dashed over to where Ino and Gaara were hidden, barely avoiding a blast of fire.

He leaned down into the cover to whisper to the others. "It's the same plan as before. One of us must distract the creature while the others remove the hands and feet."

Ino replied (though mindful to keep her voice low), "Great. How do we do that?"

"By using the creature's erratic behavior against it." Gaara supplied. "If we managed to get wires around the hand and feet, and stimulate it with sound its own momentum should do the rest."

"Then let's go." Neji already took out a number of shuriken before throwing it at the creature's head while it was turned away. A small part of him hoped that perhaps that would end it, but just like the original this monster was hard headed and refused to go down. A long, continuous stream of flame over Neji's head caused him to sweat more profusely. He carefully used to the objects around the room as cover; using his own wire to bring to him what was out of reach.

Throw kunai. Duck. Move to another cover. Repeat.

Avoid flames. Buy time for the others. Try to survive. Repeat.

Ignore the way the flames licked at him. Ignore his sweat slicked skin. Ignore the very real chance that they could all die. Repeat.

The process was repeated over and over until it became a mantra in his head. He just recognized Gaara and Ino on either side of the creature now. All he had left to do was provide one last distraction.

Unfortunately the creature was not as thick-skulled as he believed.

The creature had figured out Neji's diversion tact, and had begun to play a game of "Scorch Goes the Weasel" by burning Neji's right arm. He hastily patted at the flames that began to engulf his bandages before he simply tore them off.

He heard a guttural cry of pain followed by a few heavy thuds. He carefully looked over the edge of the overturned metal cart he was hiding behind, and breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw Ino and Gaara reeling in their lines from the clean cut remains of the fire demon. Slowly he saw the arms and legs turn into ash which was swept away by a low wind. He took a glance at Oreo's prone form - unconscious but alive - and took a step forward when he realized something.

Why hadn't the head or torso been reduced to ash as well?

He hardly had the time to warn his comrades when the high shriek of metal against metal resounded, and several pipes had lodged itself into the creature's back. A low moan of pain was emitted, and the being was lifted up by the pipes before it tore at the fleshy bindings that sealed its mouth to release a breath of fire.

Ino had tried to attack it while the fleshy bindings of its orifice were reforming - a form of torture of a tortuous being - she was burned by a blob of puss the monster spewed from its chest.

While throwing kunai and shuriken at it, Neji couldn't help but notice something. The monster was doing everything in its power to keep them away from Oreo. It would even intentionally take damage from easily avoidable attacks if it meant keeping the girl away from them. It was much the same way as it has with the other one - Mae - who was kept inside of a flower bud on the back of the last monster they faced.

Of course! The girls must provide some source of life support for the creatures; at the very least they keep them around while their psyche's are being destroyed. That would explain why Mae was kept on the flora monster's back, and why the fiery apparition trying to kill them now set up a hastily made fortitude around Oreo.

Remove the girls, and the creatures will die.

He quickly shouted this to Gaara and Ino, and without another word all three knew what to do. With a carefully placed shot Ino threw a kunai across the mouth's flesh bindings, causing it to shriek in pain and involuntarily release fire. As it recovered it tried to release some puss, but Gaara's sand became embedded in its chest. And since the puss had nowhere to go it only further caused damage to its user.

Once that was accomplished, Neji raced towards Oreo repeatedly kicked a few pipe until they were bent enough to allow him some movement. He hoped the others would keep the creature away from him or else he would join the ashes in the wind. Not looking back he reached over to Oreo and pulled. He pulled and pulled and pulled, striking at any weak spot in the rusty metal until finally a crack was heard, and Oreo fell into his arms.

Not a moment too soon he took Oreo and dodged a ball of fire from the monster. The creature tried to attack again but found that it was slowly dying.

With a final cry via a ripping of its orifice's binding, it wailed before it too was ash.

"I know… this might sound crazy," Ino said between gasps, "but I am… really starting… to miss the… killer plants."

Neji gave a mirthful smirk. "I knew she'd be more of a handful."

"We better get out of here," said Gaara as the steel structures shook.

"Right." Neji, Byakugan still activated, scanned the area to find the shortest way out. "This way."

-OoOoOoOo-

The Hyuuga carried Oreo all the way out. She wasn't heavy, but by the time they were out Neji felt like his arms were going to fall off. The battles and the Byakugan had fatigued him. They were all tired and sweaty, but thankful there were no more fire monsters. The smoke had begun to clear and Neji set Oreo down. He frowned down at the sleeping girl. Her vibrant red hair was faded by soot and ash. "Why isn't she waking?"

Ino knelt down next to her. "She was trapped longer. Leave this to me." The Yamanaka made a chakra hand sign then tapped Oreo between her eyes.

Nothing happened.

Neji leaned over her, scrutinizing for any movement. He hated to admit it, but he was getting exceedingly worri –

"ACK!" Oreo screamed. She shot up in one fluid movement, effectively smacking her forehead against Neji's and knocking him back on his butt. "You stupid CHICKEN!" she shouted to the dazed Hyuuga. "I should devour your soul and – " She stopped. "What happened?"

Neji mumbled under his breath.

"You were trapped in a genjutsu, a very powerful one," Ino informed her, trying not to laugh at the spectacle. "Don't worry, you're fine. We just need to get you out and then – "

"Where's Mae?"

"She's fine," Gaara told her tersely.

"Katy?"

The Suna shinobi glared.

"Everything is under control," Neji said strictly. "You need to go wait with Mae and Naruto."

"No," she shook her head, "wait, I… That guy! He did this!"

"He's dead." Gaara was getting impatient, Neji could feel it.

The Hyuuga knew Oreo would just continue to argue. So he nodded to Ino, who nodded back, to transport her to safety. Ino began the hand signs.

"Look at me," Neji demanded, snaring Oreo's attention. "That was a very reckless thing you did. You went in without planning. Did you think going in and swinging your fists was the right thing to do for you and your team? A leader cannot make such uninformed decisions. If you just stop to think, things like this wouldn't happen."

"Who do you think you are?" Dark emerald eyes narrowed at him. "My father? We were doing fine! I lead my team well enough! So we were having a little disagreement at first, no big deal. If Katy could just learn to cooperate like a normal person - !"

"Enough," Gaara snapped. "Get her out of here."

"What? No! Wait, wait… Okay, I was being a little unreasonable too, but… You know I'd die to protect my team!" She glanced at all of them, sincerity melting into her eyes.

Neji's stern look softened. He remembered how they were found, with Oreo sprawled out in front of Mae and Katy, as if trying to absorb the attack herself to spare them. "I know."

It was all he said, and it was all she needed, because she conceded and lowered her head before vanishing out of the nightmare world she had built for herself.

"We're running out of time," Gaara turned towards their next destination, "One more."

An icy wind blew in from the north.

* * *

**A/N:** Well, one more chapter to go.

**Noel** would like to ask, "If you were stuck in a world of your nightmares what might be there?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Nightmare World**

**Part 4**

* * *

_She was trapped longer…_

Oreo did not wake up right away, and Ino's answer to that had Gaara anxious.

From scorched earth to frozen plains, they traveled in a V-formation at high speeds. He led them, and he kept them going at a brutal pace. They were exhausted, their mental limits were being breached, but he would not let them slow down. The clock was ticking on. He would not let her be consumed by the nightmares.

The two behind him, Neji and Ino, were struggling with wounds and mental exhaustion. But he had years of torment, torment that had him building walls since he was young to protect himself from it. Now he did not fear for himself or his safety, but for his friend. He feared it would be too late.

Faster.

Coming up over a snowy hill they saw the giants of steel and glass. The towers that scraped the sky were frozen, and icicles like teeth hung from them. A loud BOOM echoed across the land. One of the steel structures, its integrity made brittle by the ice, was falling. The steel beams buckled and bent under the pressure. They could only watch in awe as the colossal tower collapsed. It was a good thing they were not up close to it, or they would have surely been crushed.

"The bigger they are the harder they fall," Gaara remarked dryly.

Then the ground rumbled. They skidded to a stop.

"What was that?" Ino asked shakily.

It rose up. The water erupted from the ground and ice devoured the liquid upward until a tower like glass stood taller than the one that had fallen.

"It's like it's trying to rebuilding itself..." Neji said.

"What's rebuilding it?" Ino asked, uncertain fear in her voice.

Clouds were forming ahead. Dark, strange clouds that looked as if knives of ice and wind were rolling in the masses.

"Hurry," was Gaara's reply, and they took off, pushing through the wind that was now shrilling against them.

A mist of snow was stirred up and all became enshrouded by a white haze. Visibility had nearly gone down to zero. They could barely make out the outlines of the towers, though they were getting closer. Everything was being engulfed by white and with every step they took it seemed to be getting colder.

The wind was like bitter ice. The heat, smoke, and sweat they'd only just experienced was no longer an issue, and now seemed like a distant luxury. Frost crept into their clothes and a chill ran to their bones. The Leaf kunoichi was the first to voice her discomfort.

"Th – this is crazy!" Her tenor was shivering with the rest of her body. "I've been… in – in her mind before! But it wasn't this bad!"

Neji spoke, "That's right. In the Chuunin preliminaries you used your Mind Transfer Jutsu on her. Tell us what you saw."

They listened carefully as Ino talked through the cry of the wind. She did not remember much, but what she did recall were beasts of ice, a weeping, and a crazed phantom.

"It's why I saved her mind for last!" she shouted to Gaara and Neji. "It's getting colder!"

"Keep moving," Gaara offered, "It will keep you warm."

It had become so hard to see they didn't realized they'd reached one of the towers until they'd almost run into it. Gaara saw Neji warily eyed the long building, and he knew if even one beam bent or if it began swaying to one side the Hyuuga would see it and would warn them. However, he felt instinct pulling him away from the place. The situation would turn very bad very quickly if it fell while they were still near. But he would not let them move on until he knew if Katherine was in there.

Gaara looked to the Hyuuga. He nodded and the veins of the Byakugan stretched to his eyes.

Ino walked up to the fogged glass and used her sleeves to wipe a circle to see through. She leaned in and peered, squinting her eyes to see into the dark. "…I don't see anything. Do you think she's in there?"

"Get back!" Neji shouted.

Sand shot out of the gourd and reached for Ino.

Glass shattered and rained down as a claw, then a head of antlers, burst through. Ino was protected from the cutting glass, but the beast that had emerged charged around to where the sand was thinnest and tore past. Ino was hurtled ten feet away, the sand being the only thing that kept the horns from piercing her. She landed in the snow with a thump.

They were at a standstill; the thing was waiting to see what they would do. Now Gaara had a chance to really look at the thing. It was a skeletal creature made of ice. It appeared to have the mixed constructions of a bear, a dog, and an elk. The head was like that of an elk's skull with long, sharp antlers. The small fangs and the bones of the forelegs were like a dog's. The hind bone structure and the large, boney, clawed feet were like a bear's.

It started to pace nervously. It feigned a retreat before darting back at them. Gaara blocked it from ramming Neji. Ino threw a couple kunai. The blades bounced off the ice uselessly. With large sweeping motions with his hands, Gaara directed the sand to surround the beast. He had it grab at the bones, pulling and crushing. It was losing pieces bit by bit when it let out a high-pitch moan. More glass shattered and more creatures came forth.

"They're everywhere in there!" Neji informed while jumping back. "I do not see Katy!"

It was all he needed to hear.

The sand shoved the creatures inside and blocked them from getting out. They could be heard breaking glass and rattling within. The building groaned.

"Follow me!"

Ino and Neji ran with Gaara full speed ahead. They were twenty feet, thirty feet, then over fifty feet away when the tower groaned again, louder than before. The sand pulled away and went after its master, but not before pulling out a support beam. The ice beasts were filing out when the tower screamed and fell down. A gush of cold air and snow catapulted Gaara, Neji, and Ino forward. They rolled and were back up again before the blink of an eye. He hoped the beasts were crushed. He did not need more time spent fighting. He needed to find Katherine. They kept running.

But where?

"Can you see her?" Gaara called back to Neji.

A pause, and then, "No, I can't see anything but more snow ahead."

They wouldn't get anywhere if they didn't even know where to go.

"Look ou – !"

It came up out of the snow and slammed Neji to the ground, the claws of its boney feet sinking into his shoulders. Sand knocked the smaller skeletal dog-like beast off of him. More came out of the snow, like the dead popping up out their graves. Kunai and shuriken were useless against the fleshless anomalies. Ino and Neji had to resort to paper bombs to shatter the glassy ice. Gaara's sand was most effective as it pulled the beasts apart and crushed the bones. He went for the legs. One that had fallen, its legs nothing but shards, let out another high-pitched moan. A second later a whole herd had come out of the white haze surrounding them. They charged at Gaara, inundating him with their presence. Sand swirled around him in a protective barrier. Then he realized they were not attacking. It was not their goal. The Suna shinobi glanced over at the fallen beast that had cried out and saw more of its kind dragging it away. The herd then retreated and disappeared with it into the white mist.

Gaara's eyes widened. The moan of the creature…

It had called for help.

The same had happened with the one back at the tower.

Ino spun around precariously. "Where'd they go?"

The Hyuuga's eyes darted about the area. "We should keep moving…"

They hadn't made much progress when they were ambushed once again. This time the creatures resembled elk more closely. Dog-like ones and bear-like ones were mixed in, along with the crosses between all three. The battle raged on for about five minutes when the beasts retreated into the haze once more. As the group kept going forward, Gaara began to see a pattern.

The beasts would ambush from the haze and the snow, fight, and then retreat only to repeat the cycle later.

It was vastly different from Mae or Oreo's nightmare creatures. Mae's did not have any correlation, just independent plants attacking at will. Oreo's attacked aggressively and directly. The burned humanoids went head-on into battle and sacrificed each other to win. But Katy's creatures used a sort of guerrilla style. Ambush, attack, retreat. When one was in trouble, they would band together and gang up on the threat in order for the damaged beasts to get away. An attack would happen again later, with renewed ice bones.

Gaara quickly understood what was happening. In this blinding storm they would be slowly worn down by the ambushes until exhaustion set in, then they would be easily finished off. A patient and calculating tactic. It was like her. She was not direct like Oreo; she was not as steadfast as Mae. She was a shy, nervous creature that would only come out to defend her friends, would only fight if she had to.

Another ambush… and more energy wasted.

The redhead grunted in frustration. How could they escape it if they did not know where to go? They were hopelessly lost in this blur of white cold. A feeling of isolation squeezed at his chest. The gale cries were like omens, screeching down at him that he was in a place of cold, of seclusion…of loneliness. The flakes of frost seemed to envelope him and separate him from everything and everyone.

He wondered if this was how she felt.

He had to hurry, he had to find her.

He was freezing and his extremities were going numb, but at least he had no wounds to deal with. Neji and Ino had the worst of it. They would not last much longer like this.

That was when he heard it.

The weeping.

His eyes zipped from one white plane to the other until he saw her. At first he thought it was Katherine. The back of the woman facing him was similar… but it was not Katy. The woman was tall, her brown hair short, and she wore strange blue and white robes. Ino gasped when she saw the woman and Neji watched and waited for something to happen.

"Who – or what – is that?" Neji said lowly, as not to draw attention their way.

Gaara did not respond. He did not know who it was. But the way the woman was weeping captured him in a trance and he felt the need to go to her. The two Leaf shinobi had no choice but to follow him or else be separated in the blizzard.

Closer, closer, and closer still… yet they never seemed to reach her. They could not catch the weeping woman; no matter how fast they ran she was always the same distance away. The woman would not respond to their verbal calls. She would not turn around either. They had no choice but to keep running after her. What else could they do?

The weeping echoed softly, and went on to grow softer. It was then they realized the winds were also growing soft and quiet.

"She's leading us," Gaara muttered, more to himself than to the others.

Snow had stopped falling; the gales died down to a gentle, yet still cold, breeze. The white earth became patched with frost-bitten grass, more and more and more until the cold grass was the only thing crunching under their feet. They were on a hill, and at the top looking down Gaara saw something that had his breath caught in his chest. It was the little house of his friend. The very house that held the family he longed for, the family of his friend who treated him as one of their own.

_This isn't real_, he reminded himself. _This is in her mind._

"That woman is gone," Neji said slowly. "What in the world…"

"This is seriously creeping me out." Ino fervently rubbed her arms to generate some warmth. "It was like a ghost!"

"She's in there." Gaara pointed down to the house.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, trust me… I know."

"Then let's go."

They searched the house and Gaara had to keep his breathing controlled. He remembered. He remembered the aged linen cloth on the kitchen table, the couch, the hallway, and… her room with its blue walls and turquoise carpet. He stood in the doorway, enraptured by times long gone. She was the one to take him to her home, the only other child who would play with him. He remembered sitting in that room with her, playing silly little games…

"Guys!" Ino called from the hall. "The basement! It's not normal!"

Gaara snapped out of his reverie and rushed to join the other two at the basement door. It certainly wasn't the basement he remembered.

Instead of plain wooden steps there was wet, slippery stone. What was supposed to be the basement was not. It was a cavern, long and deep. Stepping in and looking further down Gaara could see it was lighted by strange glowing stones embedded in the smooth rock.

This had to be it. This was where he'd find her.

He motioned for Ino and Neji to follow. Their descent into the cave was quick yet steady. A small stream of water was running along the bottom. It submerged their feet, sometimes going up to their knees when the ground dipped. It flowed gently, with the smallest of trickling noise resounding softly with the water drops that dripped from the ceiling.

He glanced at the strange stones, they glowed a somehow eerily familiar cerulean color.

Their trek was uneventful. No monsters or beasts were there to threaten them. But the cave had dangers of its own.

At first it was one tunnel, one path, but then it started getting complicated. Small tunnels scattered about the rock walls were filtering in more water. They got bigger and bigger as they went along, the water flowing faster. Then they came to a round chamber with multiple diverging paths, multiple tunnels with the same glowing stones.

"Now what?" Ino asked, her tone on edge. Time was growing thin.

The Hyuuga activated his bloodline limit, but swiftly deactivated it, flinching. "Those stones… They're blindingly bright looking with the Byakugan."

Gaara tensed, his hands gripping at his crossed arms. Now what, indeed… Could they risk choosing a path at random? If they got lost down there they'd never get out. His cyan eyes glanced from tunnel to tunnel. He could almost hear a clock in his head, grating at his nerves.

There was a sound.

His head snapped in the direction. His eyes went wide at what he saw.

A cerulean fog in the shape of a doe. It stood in front of one of the tunnels.

_I know you…_

Neji and Ino were also watching it, trepidation written in their postures. Gaara was the first to move. He dashed after the apparition. It led them down tunnel after tunnel, turn after turn, until there was only one main path. It took them down deeper and deeper.

They reached the end. It was an immense chamber. Strange patterns were carved into the walls, and once again Gaara felt he'd seen something similar before. The ceiling was so high the glowing stones looked like stars. Water was flowing in from many little holes in the smooth stone walls. It all flooded into one large pool at the farthest end of the room.

The pool's surface rippled and an almost imperceptible moan reverberated throughout the cave. They steeled themselves for whatever nightmarish creation came their way next. This was it. They only had this one last thing to kill - this one last person to rescue - then they could all walk away. Gaara paused however. He knew Katherine only as a child, and the time spent after their "reunion" was not spent well. But she has been and most likely always will be a kind and gentle person; what major demons could she possibly have?

He got his answer in the form of a deformed, fleshy deer skull surfacing from the pool. Well actually there wasn't that much flesh on the skull and the horns on its head reminded him of a stag's. The eye sockets were empty but little trickles of red liquid constantly flowed out of it. The jaw was something strange. It appeared to be a transparent solid, and it only took a shift of the light for Gaara to determine that it was made of glass. It immediately ground up its glass teeth and spat it at them.

The rest of its emerging body was not nearly as aesthetically pleasing. A majority of it was made of torn or stretched-over-the-bone, thin flesh, and the joints were not covered at all. They were prepared for its attacks which consisted of mainly trying to spit glass at them, and Gaara's sand proved a great defense. That was, of course, until the monster got the bright idea of splashing as much water as it could on the sand to make it more or less useless. The sand was too heavy and the chakra needed to move it was not forthcoming in such a world.

A split second occurred in which the beast and Gaara made eye contact. Those empty, black sockets boring into Gaara's own teal orbs. A moment of silence ensued before the monster screeched in a bellowing rage and extended a claw towards Gaara. Without his sand he could only dodge, which at first proved fruitful. That was until the monster spat out more glass at them, separating him from the others; he ducked, but was unable to escape the grasp the monster's strangely claw-like hands had on his throat.

While the others were busy recovering from the latest glass shower, the monster began to drag Gaara towards the pool. _Does it mean to drown me?¸_Gaara thought as it dragged him closer and closer. Even as the others attacked with their own weapons its sole focus was on getting Gaara in that water. A lone yet powerful thought nearly overwhelmed him: Was there a part of Katherine that wished this? That wished him to die. He quickly and repeatedly killed that thought, because he didn't know if he could bear having her hate him though heaven knows he deserved it.

He had hurt her so badly, and even when she tried to help him he continuously rejected her; even tried to kill her.

How could it have all gone so wrong?

Why couldn't things be the way they used to?

Because nothing good ever lasts? At least, not for him.

But that doesn't mean he was going to let the same happen to Katherine. With a renewed strength, he gathered some sand in his hands, squeezed the water from it, and formed it in the shaped of a small spear. He waited until the monster looked at him to will the tiny spear into the creature's eye.

It stilled before slumping to the ground. Gaara twisted and used his waning physical strength to release himself from its claws, and stood with the others.

"Better get ready." The Leaf kunoichi, Ino, panted with two kunai in her hands. "We've already seen these things come back twice."

"But where is she?" Neji, the Hyuuga shinobi, was also exhausted. "Oreo was visibly seen, and the youngest was on the creature's back, but I don't see the last one."

Gaara looked around, but he couldn't see Katherine anywhere. She couldn't be in that pool could she? She would have drowned by now! No, the laws of reality do not apply in this world. This is created by the paranoia and fear of its victims. Perhaps she is down there, but since the creature has not yet woken up-

It woke up. Never mind.

It crawled on all fours this time instead of two legs, and charged at them wildly but powerfully. This was tedious! Where was Katherine?!

A soft weeping caught his attention.

Gaara became mesmerized by the image of Katherine crying, and yet deep in his heart he knew it was not her. There was something...unerringly different about the spectre huddled in the corner. He did not think of her as a threat; on the contrary he knew that by using her cries she had led them to the horrid monster's lair. But why? Could it have something to do with the phantom who had taken residence inside of Katherine's body? And if she was trying to help now as she had before, why was she merely kneeling down and crying.

The spectre's next movements answered Gaara's question almost immediately.

Without exposing her face she turned her head towards the monster, clutched her side and sobbed even louder.

A brief memory that caused Gaara great regret flashed of him wielding his sand to carve a whole in Katherine's side.

The monsters needed the girls as a life source - one they kept close.

Gaara noticed that as he attempted an experimental feint to the monster's left side it immediately ducked and doubled its efforts to mow him down.

Without them, they cannot exist.

Gaara silently thanked the spectre. But she was already gone.

"Katherine is inside of that thing's left side. We must hold it down to cut her out."

Ino stared at Gaara in shock. "How do you know that?"

"Questions later." Gaara snarled impatiently. "Attack now!"

Even though the suppression of his chakra due to this world's insanity inducing effects on the mind, and the mental exhaustion caused by the previous battles and his concern for Katherine made his body feel like lead sinking into the sea, Gaara used every last ounce of strength he had left to force all of the sand he had to attack. A good portion of it was frozen almost immediately, but there was more than enough to still give that living abomination of Katherine's nightmares hell.

The scene before them suddenly faltered and began fading like a broken television set.

"We're out of time!" Ino shouted. "Naruto's chakra is depleted! We have to get out or we'll be trapped!"

"No," Gaara said firmly.

"It's too late!" she screamed at him. "We're out of chakra!"

"…You underestimate Naruto Uzumaki. He's stronger than you give him credit for." The scene before Gaara steadied and solidified as a new wave of chakra rushed in. "He will not give up, and neither will I. We _will_ make it."

He would not leave her here… because he remembered.

_"You...play?" She managed to gasp it out. "With me?"_

She had been the one to save him from his loneliness. Her life was in constant danger because of him, of what he held inside of him, but she came back. She had seen the worst of him, and still...loved him...

_Without a word, she wrapped her arm around him and pulled him close. Then and there he knew...She forgave him...and she cared._

...Even if it had only been for a short amount of time, and even if he had convinced himself that all of it was worthless in a time of darkness when she was gone...

_There they were in a pile of wheat, the pushing forgotten, with Gaara getting a real hug. It was a moment he would never forget.  
_  
...those were the happiest days of his life...

_"I told myself," she almost wept, "I wouldn't let you drown."_

...she had stayed when she caught a glimpse of the darkness within him. So now he would save her from the darkness within her.

The sand whirled ferociously above the monster until they formed into several sharp and heavy spears. A shout of warning was all that was given to the others to get back before the spears drove themselves into the monster. Blood dribbled from its body, but nobody cared and nobody wasted time moving forward.

Surprisingly Ino was the one who ran in first and using nothing more than a kunai and brute force drove the weapon into the creature's left side saying something about not being completely useless. It was lost on Gaara who moved forward with Neji to help. They all helped Ino rip the kunai through flesh and bone until they saw a blue shirt peeking out. Gaara and Neji pulled at different sides of the wound ignoring the ache that was causing their arms to shake. Ino reached inside.

After a minute or two (the way his heart was pounding Gaara began to wonder if it had been hours) Ino exclaimed, "I've got a good grip!" And began to pull. Between the monster flailing beneath them and holding the wound open, Gaara was beginning to pant heavier and heavier. He almost cried out with relief when Ino finally managed to pull Katherine (who seemed to have been in the fetal position) out. Neji and Gaara released their grip, and Gaara wondered that if this counted as the hardest physical labor he had ever done in his life since this was all still in his head.

The monster flailed as began to melt into water of all things, but they had learned from their past trials and were already out of the home by the time it began to crumble.

The ghostly doe had been there to lead them through the shaking tunnels before disappearing to who knew where.

Gaara watched the house - the home - he had once come to finding love and acceptance from everyone there crumble before him. He comforted himself, if only mildly, that this was not real and that Katherine's family was safe far, far away from here.

-OoOoOoOo-

_Wake up…_

The snow and the frost melted, receding to allow beautiful green pastures to flourish.

_Wake up._

Everything spun; she was so dizzy. She felt heavy yet light at the same time, like she was underwater. But she was breathing; she could not be underwater.

"She isn't waking," said an earnest voice. It was distorted and sounded far off, and yet she still recognized it.

_I hear you…_

"Please wake up," he whispered.

_I can't._

"Let me try again," said a female voice.

A jolt of chakra jarred her mind. Her eyes snapped open and she vaulted up, nearly hitting Gaara, but he pulled back in time with her movements, keeping his cyan eyes locked onto her. As she started to fall back his arm shot out to catch her before her back and head got reacquainted with the floor. She stared, stunned and confused.

"There, you see? I knew I pulled her out with us," said a blonde girl. Katy's brain took far too long to process that it was Ino.

What was going on? Her eyes zipped to every person in the room; a shoddy room with wooden planks and weird paper tags sticking to the walls.

"Easy," he said, black-ringed eyes regarding her carefully. She didn't realize until then how hard she was breathing. Her heart pounded in her chest as she twisted out of his arms and scurried away into the corner. "Katherine!" He reached for her and she flinched, her arms crossing in front of her defensively. He froze, his hand returning to his side. The hurt was on his face for less than a second before receding to hide in his eyes. His expression retook its stone mask. He'd mastered that expression over the years of his young life, and only the faint spark in his eyes let her know of his pain.

She didn't dwell on it long; she was looking for an escape. Gaara stood far away enough to keep her from panicking but close enough to block the exit.

Frost began growing on her arms.

"Kat," Oreo called, lazily standing from the mats on the floor. "It's okay. We were trapped in a genjutsu. Remember that guy? He cast it. But that's all been taken care of now. Ino, Gaara, and Bird Brain got us out." Her emerald stare hardened. "You should be grateful… they risked a lot help us."

Mae stood up beside the female redhead, silently nodding her confirmation.

"Uh, I helped too, you know…" Naruto spoke from his slumped position on the floor.

Katy noted the burns and cuts on Neji and Ino. Saw how exhausted and worn down Gaara and Naruto looked. She lowered her arms, a shiver passing only briefly.

"You did it," said an astonished voice from the doorway. A woman in a worn purple kimono passed through the door flap.

"Miss Emiko," Ino acknowledged the woman with a smile.

"This is amazing," Emiko breathed. "Tell me, how did you do it?"

They spent the next half hour going over what had happened with Neji and Ino doing most of the talking. Naruto interrupted a lot, still having energy after all. Oreo and Mae commented on their inner monsters. Mae was calm and contemplative while Oreo was loud and insisted she didn't like meat – how could she or any part of her be a cannibal? Neji had a terse retort for her. She was an impulsive maniac and it was completely plausible that her inner demons would be ten times as much. Gaara commented here and there but generally stayed close to Katy, occasionally casting glances her way.

"And that one," Emiko gestured to Katy in the corner when all was explained. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine," Oreo cut in before anyone else could. "She's like that naturally."

"We will report to the Hokage about your situation," Neji told Emiko.

The young woman smiled. "Thank you. I think we here in this village can finally start rebuilding our lives now that those rogues are gone, but any help you can offer for those still caught in that man's jutsu…" Her lip quivered. "Thank you."

"Don't worry, lady," Naruto said kindly, "Everything's gonna be all right."

They were prepared to go a short time later. Emiko and Daisuke waved as they left.

"By the way," Ino said once they were a ways down the road, "Katy, who was that woman? The one who helped us through the blizzard."

Katy didn't say anything for a long while. Then, finally, "A ghost."

Her tone let them know that she would not answer any further.

Hours later and it was time for the Suna shinobi to go his separate way. He said his goodbyes, his eyes lingering on Katy before he turned away. She watched him go, something tugging at her chest. When it became too much she ran after him, catching him by his sleeve.

"You… are you okay? I don't know what… I'm sorry." She had trouble getting her thoughts into words.

"Everything's all right now. There's no need to apologize." His eyes were gentle. "It was just a bad dream."

A bad dream… She wondered about that; if she would wake up to find the scar of her side gone, the scars on his heart healed, and their friendship back to what it was, as if she never left.

He took her hand in his and squeezed it in a silent goodbye, the look in his gaze saying, "_Until we meet again_."

She did not look away from him until she could no longer see him.

"Come on, Katy!" Naruto called to her.

She slowly turned and made her way back to the group. She couldn't understand why, but she felt scared. It was a fear that was binding, slowly suffocating. Her thoughts went from the woman in blue and white, to the phantom doe, to Gaara. He dove into uncertainty, into a world of nightmares… for her? With what happened at the Chuunin Exams and the changes in him since then… she couldn't grasp it all.

And with what had happened with that genjutsu and her unexplained fear…

The phantom's dead eyes bored into Katy's memory. "_What are your nightmares?_" it had spoken back then. "_Use your fear. __Use it to fight. Use it to run. __Use your fear to create your nightmares, but do not let it overcome you."_

_Do not let it overcome you…_

_Because fear is… only in the mind, right?_

* * *

**A/N**: That concludes "Nightmare World." I hope you enjoyed reading it. Honestly I thought we'd get a little more feedback on this, but I am still appreciative of those who took the time to comment. Thanks for reading!

**Noel Ardnek**: I had a lot of fun writing some of these scenes, and collaborating with Sol. A million thanks for even considering giving this a shot.


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